A Different Candidate For Governor (Hour 2)

Transcript

A Different Candidate For Governor (Hour 2)

Daybreak w/ Brian and Jamie · Mon May 18, 2026

Kathryn Lake

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Across the state of Wisconsin, Daybreak with Brian and Jamie is back.

706 right now.

Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

We do appreciate it.

We hope your day is off to a great start.

My name is Jamie Martinson.

And good morning.

I'm Brian Noona.

Glad you are here.

It's the top of the hour and that means it's time for a little mmm you need to know.

It's a wake-up call in more ways than one.

Time for some sh** you need to know.

A lot going on and a lot of it involves Jamie's favorite subject to rail against gerrymandering.

Yesterday, in a side note, yesterday marked the 72nd anniversary of the U.S.

Supreme Court decision on Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, which led, which held rather that racially segregated public schools were inherently unequal and therefore unconstitutional, which was a great ruling.

Now fast forward 72 years and we seem to be going backwards because on Friday, the Supreme Court rejected Virginia's bid to restore a congressional map that would have given Democrats a chance to pick up four seats in the closely divided House of Representatives.

The court's order issued without any noted dissent is in the is the latest twist in the nation's mid decade redistricting competition.

It's kicked off.

It was kicked off by Donald Trump urging Republican control.

states to redraw their lines and was supercharged by a recent Supreme Court ruling severely weakening the Voting Rights Act that opened up even more winnable seats for the GOP because why let people of color vote they don't know what they're doing so we're going to go back to the Confederacy.

In recent days the justices have sided with Republicans in Alabama and Louisiana who hope to redo their congressional maps

to produce more GOP leaning seats, but the Virginia situation was different.

It stemmed from a 4-3 ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court that struck down a constitutional amendment that voters passed just last month.

Now they say narrowly passed, but passed is passed.

So the voters said yes.

The state court found that the Democratic control legislature improperly began the process of placing the amendment of the ballot on the ballot.

after early voting had begun in Virginia's general election last fall.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, Jamie.

In Louisiana, voting had already begun and they just suspended that election altogether.

They did.

They absolutely did.

Yes.

All right.

Just checking.

Yeah.

Supreme Court typically doesn't intervene in state court proceedings unless it's against Donald Trump.

Unless they present an issue of federal law.

So Virginia Democrats had hoped to persuade the justices of the Virginia court misread federal law and Supreme Court precedent that hold that even if early voting is underway, an election does not happen until Election Day itself.

This is the ripple effect of what what happened with the Supreme Court, right?

And in Georgia last week Governor Brian Kemp said he wasn't going to call for new maps before the midterms Turns out he's going to he asked the the he's now asked the state legislators to start drawing up those new maps And and this is what happens This is what happens when the Supreme Court rules in the way that they did and this is why this ruling is so

dangerous for democracy.

It's literally a danger to democracy with with what they did and it is going to have a ripple effect because now blue states are trying to counteract and this is this is why I get on my gerrymandering soapbox

because

this is bad for all voters.

And again there is there has been a bill in the US Congress for years that would put a stop to this but as we've seen that one party

And it either starts with an R or a D, but I think it starts with an R. I don't know for sure.

They're afraid that they will lose their power.

And so they have done everything they can to block that bill.

But let's move on.

There is some other stuff to know.

I want to talk to you about the last story.

Yes, absolutely.

Very much.

So we're going to bring this story closer to home because UW-Madison is closing a pair of libraries this summer as a result of a campus-wide budget cuts.

Friday was the last day students, faculty, staff, and the public could visit the Geology and Geophysics Library, and the Social Work Library closes on August 14th.

Now, the former chancellor of UW-Madison announced in June

that the university departments would need to cut their budgets by 2026 by 5% or 7% for the next school year.

She also went on to say at a February UW Board of Regents meeting that the cost-cutting measures yielded $64 million in savings for UW-Madison.

Now the budget cuts accelerated a planned consolidation of UW-Madison's libraries outlined in a 2017 report.

UW-Madison Libraries Associate Dean for Learning and Engagement

Kerry Cruz said that nearly a decade-long library plan aims to create larger libraries serving the whole campus rather than smaller ones scattered in academic buildings.

Now UW-Madison closed the Astronomy, Mathematics, and Physics Library in August.

In the fall, the Rebecca M. Blank Student Commons, the library and study space named after the late Chancellor, opened in the new Morgan, Morebridge Hall.

Library collections are being transferred to other locations and will remain available.

Students and the campus community checked out their last books this week at the Geology Library on the fourth floor of Weeks Hall.

Its collections are moving to Steenbach Library or the university's shelving facility in Verona.

The campus can request all of the materials in the catalog for delivery to another library for checkout.

The UW libraries will catalog the social work libraries

materials for at least six months after it closes in August.

So, I mean, you're still going to be able to check these books out, so I guess that's good and they can still be requested.

I don't know.

Anytime I get it, I get budgets, but anytime I see a library close, it always makes my heart a little sad because

I am a book person.

Yeah, and these programs are important for a lot of students and a lot of faculty and staff, but...

They'll find, pardon me, they will find a way.

All right, this one, normally on when we're talking about the yes, you need to know, we don't invite you to jump in, but you can jump in on this one if you want.

Is there any answer to the obvious corruption that is happening in this administration?

855-75CIVIC, 855-7524-842.

I have been apoplectic about this since I heard about it over the weekend, and I'm surprised it's not a bigger thing.

But, you know, we'll make it a bigger thing.

The Department of Justice is finalizing a deal to launch a so-called Truth and Justice Commission, but that is not the full name.

It is the Donald J. Trump Truth and Justice Commission, and establish a compensation fund of $1,776 million.

To pay claims made by alleged victims of government weaponization in exchange for President Trump dropping his ongoing lawsuit against the IRS.

Now that's according to sources and ABC News.

They said that the proposed deal, which is likely to face legal hurdles and has already been criticized by Democrats as a slush fund for Trump's allies, arose after months of deliberation between the White House and DOJ officials who originally attempted to craft a legal justification for the settlement to compensate Trump directly.

Now, the lawsuit is because somebody leaked his tax returns.

The weirdness and you should be able to see this is Donald Trump run is in charge.

He's he's the president all these all these departments are under him, but That's all right He's gonna sue them anyway, but this is this is a slush fund.

That's all it is I'll give you I'll give you a few more facts.

So they're using a centuries old legal practice known as the rule of necessity

DOJ lawyers have argued that no alternative existed other than letting the lawsuit proceed with Trump acting as the plaintiff while being directly in charge of the defendants, the IRS and the Treasury.

So they're saying he's a private citizen as well as the president, which I don't really buy.

In the court filing this week, the attorneys identified serious issues with the lawsuit.

This is

the people on the sensible side, arguing that Trump has extraordinary control over the defendants in the case and that the circumstances raise the specter that defendants and their attorneys may instead be operating at the president's direction.

You think?

Additionally, since taking office, President Trump has significantly expanded the president's oversight and control of the attorney general and the DOJ, including the way in ways that blur the line.

So he would be eligible.

Trump would not be eligible for payment himself, but entities that he controls or that benefit him would be eligible for the funds.

They'd also it also would give settlements to 1600 people who were convicted after the insurrection.

Trump would have the ability to fire some of the people on this commission if they weren't.

giving the money to who he thought was going to be.

This is one more step of this president enriching himself at our expense.

He is suing you for this money.

Don't be mistaken.

This has nothing to do with the IRS.

This has nothing to do with anything.

It's about him getting richer and you're paying for it.

So if that's cool with you, it's not cool with me.

A billion, seven hundred, and seventy-six million.

Seventeen, seventy-six.

Get it?

Yeah.

What I think is fascinating about this is the fact that you're right.

We haven't heard a lot about it.

But this is a president who has used this office to enrich himself and his inner circle through both versions of the presidency, right?

And

I think

it's been more outright in the second version.

But there's so many things that are wrong with this, right?

First, let's talk about the, I mean, where do you start?

So let's start

first.

You see, that's just it.

Where do you start?

First of all, the fact that it's even a possibility.

Can we start there?

That shows, again, Congress has no spine.

And the fact, again, to point out, so rightly what you did, this is taxpayer money.

So we're paying for this.

So first, where's the accountability?

because this proposal would allow this commission to distribute the funds, but without any sort of transparency about how those decisions are made.

Second, there's precedent here.

If a government can actually create a fund like this that's tied to political claims, what stops future administrations, Republican or Democrat, from doing the exact same thing?

Third, I think there's also a trust issue here, because there are already concerns about politicization with this administration.

And now we're talking about benefiting allies or specific groups that are tied specifically to the president.

And so when those government actions are tied to politics,

it erodes trust in in our institutions.

And so for me, I guess so many things again wrong with this, but those would be the three that would would stick out as far as the first three that I would start picking at along with the taxpayer money.

Lynn Texan from Golden Valley, she says maybe Dems should start campaigning on clawing back funds dispersed under the Trump administration.

I I like that idea, Lynn.

It's my my

The main thing I keep coming back to before I start breaking it all down is why is nobody stopping this?

It's corruption out in the open.

It used to be if you were corrupt, you kind of had a little shame.

You kept it in the dark.

They're doing it right out in the open and basically begging us to stop them.

and nobody is stopping them.

When you're proposing setting up this slush fund, and that's what I'm going to call it because that's what it is, that's money that is not going to be appropriated by Congress, that's going to be decided by the five commissioners, four of whom were appointed by the Attorney General, who we already know is Trump's first former personal lawyer,

and then the fifth one by the president who has complete power over the commissioners to get rid of them.

If you have any doubt what's happening here, you need to wipe the dew off your eyes and see what's up because this is just the latest.

If this were the only thing it would be, oh wow, how is this happening?

It's just another brick.

in the chain of corruption that's going on.

The enrichment of this president.

You know who else gets rich?

Celebrities, and we love to hear about them.

So we'll go to Swiper Stay after this.

I'm Brian Noonan.

This is Daybreak.

I'm Jamie Martin.

So thank you for joining us.

719 on the Civic Media Network.

Kathryn Lake

You're listening to Civic Media.

Stay up to date on the latest news and information for your local community and Wisconsin by signing up for our free email newsletter.

Visit civicmedia.us slash email to get

started.

for having us on this morning.

It is time for Swipe or Stay.

We will put the politics aside for just a few minutes.

I mean, sometimes the story is overlapped, but

we do our best

here to see your producer, Frank, joins us.

How are you today?

I'm good.

It's not looking great on the intersection part,

but I think

they're fun.

There's some fun stuff in here.

Jamie, I know this is the bit you missed the most, so we're going to get right into it.

I'm going to read some pop culture headlines.

Jamie and Brian are going to have to decide whether to stay on it or swipe onto the next one.

Parker, you have been stripped of your powers and you've been given your ordinary

ones.

Jamie, you should have seen his head.

It was like the Grinch's heart.

His head grew four sizes last

week.

I

have a voice.

I'm not going to do that.

You have to use it a couple of times.

All right.

Story number one MMA fans disappointed this weekend.

I I want to hear your story because I watched it and I am one of them

will stay

The big Netflix fight on Saturday night was between Rhonda Rousey and Gina Carano ending in just 17 seconds after Rousey put her in an arm bar and made Carano tap out.

Now, Rousey collected a guaranteed $2.2 million for the fight.

Carano made just over a million.

So Brian, I'm glad you gave me that interesting tidbit because I had a question in here for all the fight fans that are listening.

So

this question is directly for you.

Why do you even pay for this?

Don't you don't you feel like you know that you're gonna get scammed

out of it?

Especially

for these

I didn't pay for it was on Netflix So I pay for Netflix, but I don't pay I didn't pay for Netflix for this fight and I didn't watch the whole thing because the the event this Jake Paul event started at 8 o'clock and It went Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey's fight started at 11 10

The only reason I saw it was because Debbie went to bed and I was like, oh, I wonder if the fight happened yet.

No, it had not.

So I don't normally I don't.

And the only reason I wanted to watch this was because there was hype and everybody else was asleep.

So it didn't surprise me that the fight ended the way it did.

That's how most of Ronda Rousey's fights eight of eight of her fights ended within the first minute because of this arm bar deal.

Right.

It was a very

anti-climactic and to what was an overhyped evening of, you know, chest pounding and Jake Paul's idiocy and

everything else.

Aren't those events usually overhyped?

Yes, that's what I mean.

I

just don't understand why people continue to get sucked into this because...

Like

I said, everybody was asleep, and it was 11 o'clock, and I was like, let me see.

And it didn't take up a lot of my time.

Took up 17 seconds to my nuts.

This one, this one I

get a little bit more, but I feel like whenever I see Netflix is hosting a fight now, I know it's just a cash grab.

Yeah.

Were they able to keep this one up longer?

Because when Jake Paul and Mike Tyson fought a few, like, what was that, a year ago or so?

Oh, I forgot.

Netflix just kept crashing, because they'd never done a live event like

that, and they

couldn't keep it

like that.

Oh, no, it was...

There was all kind of, it was good.

I mean, the production value was good.

Every time I checked in, yeah, they had videos, they had the whole thing, but it was still, I was like, eh, all right, so anyway, story

number two.

Another U.S.

tour is canceled.

Just from like Parker's family is not going on a vacation, is it?

Another U.S.

tour

is canceled.

All right, now you got me, I'll stay.

Do I care?

I'm gonna say swipe just so we can get Parker involved.

Parker?

And his

head can go swell back

up.

Oh, I'm not gonna know who it is anyway, swipe.

All right,

good.

Fair

enough.

America's quarterback is in relationship trouble.

Oh, no.

America's quarterback.

All right.

America's quarterback, Patrick Mahon.

I'll

stay.

This

seems like some drama.

Yeah, I'll stay.

I don't know who America's quarterback

is.

Come on, America's team, Brian, the Dallas Cowboys.

Oh, I knew that was America's team.

Dak Prescott.

This is America's quarterback, Dak Prescott.

Is

he,

though?

All right.

Sorry,

Cowboys fans.

He was seen buddying up with his ex-fiance's friend

during

a pro Bull Riders event in Fort Worth on Friday.

All right, that whole sentence is crazy.

Y'all make kids better.

Hold on.

You're not going to believe this is going to get better.

I bet Prescott was engaged to Sarah Jane Ramos.

They broke off their engagement earlier this year.

Now he's having to deny being involved with what would have been a bridesmaid at his wedding.

Now this is where it gets even better.

TMZ got a hold of the friend's phone number that was seen with Prescott

and they

called and asked if she was dating Dak Prescott.

to which she said one second and handed the phone over to Dak Prescott.

Oh!

That's awesome.

He said they are not dating.

The two have been friends for years and there's nothing going on between them.

Oh, she's just

consoling him.

She's just consoling him.

They

didn't tell you that phone call was at 3 a.m.

There was a rustling of sheets.

Witnesses.

have said that it didn't look like they were just friends.

But

that's all we know for now.

So they may or may not have been canoodling.

Wow.

So it's not as obvious as Brable and Rossini.

OK, got it.

No, not nearly as bad.

I hope Dak learned his lesson from Mike.

Yes, we hope so.

Wow.

Parker,

how much time we

got?

One quick one.

About a minute.

A minute.

Hollywood starts to politically fracture.

Oh,

oh, yes.

Stay.

Stay.

We have a message from Chelsea Handler about Spencer Pratt.

If you're seeing this video, this is a reminder that a straight white male former reality star that has no previous experience in government should not be a legitimate political candidate.

Have we learned anything yet?

The bar is on the floor people and I need you to jump over it.

Okay.

Thank you.

Have a nice day.

That came from Handler's Instagram message and now Pratt's

calling her out by reposting a joke from the Kevin Hart Rose, joking about the time she went to a Jeff Epstein dinner party.

The L.A.

mayoral race is already off to a hot start, and it's just going to be a black guy on the country.

But she's right.

She's right.

She's

not

right.

Trump, as of this morning, is weighing whether or not he endorses Pratt.

Oh,

what a

world.

What

a time to be alive.

That's swipers say, guys, welcome back, Jamie.

What a time to be alive.

You know, there's there are Republicans running for governor too.

We've heard about Tom Tiffany, but there's another Republican in the race.

We will talk to him on the other side.

It's daybreak.

Now back to more of daybreak with Brian and Jamie.

735 right now.

Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

This is the Civic Media Network.

Hopefully your Monday is treating you well because, well, Mondays and all that.

My name is Jamie Martenson.

And good morning.

I'm Brian Noonan.

So, you know, there's a big race for Wisconsin's governor's office.

The Democratic field is still very crowded.

Now on the Republican side, it's been assumed that their candidate is all set for the November election, but that's not necessarily the case.

There are other Republicans in the primary.

Andy Manskey is challenging Tom Tiffany in the Republican primary.

He joins us now.

Andy, thanks for being here.

So for people who aren't familiar with you, Andy, give us the elevator pitch.

Andy Mansky.

Sure.

So I'm a working class guy.

I work in the medical field and I'm in Milwaukee County on little outskirts, if you will.

But my perspective is a little bit different.

This year, I think it's important to meet voters all across the spectrum and talk about issues.

I think that sometimes it's okay to find common ground and middle ground on various ideas and push forward.

I think at least at the time when I was trying to enter the race, you know, young perspective is okay to bring into the

to the view, right?

So I know a lot of young people care about starter homes.

They care about, you know, just seeing life being more affordable, better for them overall.

I've had these conversations in Milwaukee and in Madison and across the state, wherever I'm going.

And that's just true across the political spectrum.

So at the end of the day, I mean, I'm not going to be sugar coated.

I mean, Tom Tiffany is more well known.

He's a congressman.

But at the end of the day, we have a process.

I'm going through that process.

I'm talking to voters just like he is right now.

We're doing signatures just like

He is and we're hoping to hit that threshold and be able to make the ballot.

But at the end of the day, I'm very proud of what I've accomplished and what I've done and I'm putting a lot of new ideas out there and kind of I've done a lot.

I'm very proud of it.

Well, we're certainly glad that you're here to have this conversation with us this morning.

And one of the things that I think I admire most about your campaign is you said that you're never going to drop out of the race.

So let's talk a little bit about the primary.

And what does, because obviously the Republicans just had their state convention this weekend, you happen to be in attendance, what does that party unity look like to you going forward throughout this race?

Sure, so party unity to me is I guess in my mind, we can run a race, you know, it doesn't have to be, you know, hatred filled one way or another, right?

You know, we have disagreements and policy for me as a working class guy.

I'm always looking for what are you gonna do for me, my family, the community around me, right?

At the time when Trump in 2024 was running, one of the things that I was looking at as a overtime worker is no tax and overtime.

And it didn't just impact me.

It impacts many people.

You know, coworkers I have, people I know in the community, right, you know, getting money in people's pockets does matter.

And just like no tax on tips, you know, Kamala Harris kind of saw that and thought it was a great policy.

And she was trying to mimic that as well.

So again, moving towards the workers and the people of the state and helping them out is always going to be a plus.

So in that regard, I mean, convention was quite an experience.

There were some people out there that were a little

out there in their views of what this election is going to be like.

I have a different perception, if you will.

But in the day, it was cool.

I've never been to convention before, but I'm very happy to just be a part of the process again and just meet people where they're at.

Andy Manskey is a Republican candidate for governor here in Wisconsin.

Andy Manskey, the number four, governor.com is his website.

I read over your platform, Andy, and I like that it seemed very focused, as you've mentioned, on Wisconsinites and what's going on on the on the ground here in Wisconsin.

But

We all also know Wisconsin does not exist in a vacuum.

So how do you align with the National Republican Party and this current administration?

Sure, I'll just be very blunt.

Tom's got, you know, a history with Trump.

I was not endorsed by Trump.

I'm just a regular working class guy.

He maybe doesn't even know who I am.

And that's okay.

And then the day I have some differences with the National Party, if you will.

For example, my views have kind of changed.

I did grow up religious, but my view, at least with abortion, has kind of morphed into, hey, I realize having talked to voters, talking to women, talking to people across the state, if you will, that.

I think it's kind of a lot of these traditional arguments don't really hold as much water in my mind, right?

So in that regard, I like to talk about the idea of the root problem with abortion.

So when women can't afford to have kids, when they can't have housing, when they don't know if that man will stay, when they're anxious, they're fearful, they're stressed out, when the world isn't so pretty and life's very hard, in my mind, it's a lot harder to just say to young people like myself or other people, right?

to simply continue, if you will, right?

And so I want to say and argue the case for against the national Republican policies, if you will, saying, hey, if you address the root issue, you know, they don't have the, maybe they don't have the money, maybe they don't, they're anxious, they don't have the job, they're worried about their future prospects.

They aren't set up yet.

I mean, there are, there are missing jobs here in Wisconsin.

You know, it is hard to have housing that is affordable here in Wisconsin.

You know, society's changed quite a lot.

And so if we can address some of these concerns, my view is that some women, that's enough for the

them to feel good about their future prospects.

A cat's going to come by in a second.

Hey, lowkey cat.

So let me get out of the way.

Move her off real quick here.

That is not your lieutenant governor.

No, it is not my lieutenant governor.

Just checking.

Just checking.

But no, I mean, in my mind said, look, you talk about the root causes, right?

If people are always prospering, they're doing good, right?

I think if you are at least in the right perspective, that's one way that you can advocate for life.

It doesn't have to be the traditional marks, right?

I think, for example, with marijuana thing, right?

I think it's coming one way or another for most states.

I think it's just a matter of many religious voters and people in society.

You know, it's okay to have rules guidelines.

I grew up studying the table, right?

And studying the table means, hey, we already kind of do this for a lot of elements of our society.

You know, smoking zones at the Brewer Stadium, right?

A little bit away from the public.

You know, if you're worried about public interaction, I mean, it's important to protect children and those who are at risk.

I think it's important to protect property rights and there can be establishments that want to allow smoking marijuana and there's places they don't and that's fine.

Let them do it, right?

But I think we can set guidelines.

I mean, in my mind, if you drive high, you drive drunk, these are the basics, right?

We can always further, you know, extrapolate on these issues.

But in my mind, these issues shouldn't really be as big as they are because then the day

If we can set rules, guidelines, we can move forward on some of these things.

And then obviously that money would be good for Wisconsin.

Democrats talk about this already, but I mean, more money can help, you know, get rid of different taxes for people.

We can, again, address.

people's fears and concerns.

So I just am very different.

Some different perspectives from the national views.

I still think that there's a lot of work we can do to better our state.

And I think that there are some pros to Republicans perspectives.

There's pros to some Democrat perspectives.

I'm just kind of a middle of the ground guy.

That's what happens when you're in a household that comes with both perspectives, which is what I had growing up on the outskirts of Milwaukee.

We're talking with Andy Manskey.

He is a Republican candidate for governor.

Andy Manskey, the number four, governor.com.

Let's go to that property tax discussion, right?

Because that's been a hotbed of a topic across the state over the last few weeks.

You're proposing that people who've owned their home for 30 years or over the age of 65 could pay a flat fee instead of a traditional property tax.

So how would local governments in your plan, like schools, municipalities, make up for

of that lost revenue.

Explain to us your plan a little bit, if you would.

Sure.

So my perspective has kind of changed, if you will.

Originally, I kind of had a perspective of like, I really want to empower people.

And after 30 years, I thought, well, you know, you should own the house you're in, and then it shouldn't be so government focused.

As you talked about the idea of

the counties themselves, they do rely on that money.

So my perspective is kind of morphed, if you will, and that's okay to change perspective in politics.

So now my perspective has changed to kind of a flat rate, if you will, that you can kind of lock into.

I've also suggested other ideas.

For example, individuals who get civically involved should be able to get maybe a slight decrease in their property taxes.

You're investing in the young people, you're investing in the future.

In that regard, I think that math can change county to county, and it's okay to say that because for some counties, the populations are just vastly different.

But I would be willing to work with him whatever way possible.

It's about giving more choice and opportunities and different ways and perspectives of how to talk about property taxes as a whole, right?

But in my mind, this is a middle ground from, hey, some people want to go all the way out there saying, I've had my paid 30 years, I should own my home, right?

Well, the counties also need money and there's actual services out there, so.

This is a starting point.

This is a conversation starter, right?

But I do think it could be a good thing.

There's other things we can do as well.

I mean, I've talked about opportunity zones.

I want to build what I define as like five cities here in Wisconsin.

So really just these are going to be regional hubs, build basically setting up new cities, new kind of roots, if you will.

So Steven's point, Ashlyn, where my family's from, I'll be biased.

I'm sorry, I got

Kathryn Lake

my grandma and

grandpa up there, right?

You know, a couple other cities around the state, but these are going to be areas that when they're empowered, there's, you know, less taxes, which obviously, at least with the statewide element, right?

to empower the people there, too, in the communities there.

So there's different ways of always pulling levers and talking about policy, but that should, again, bring up people around because, like Milwaukee, I'm not dumb, people come into Milwaukee for jobs.

They come into Madison for jobs.

So if you, again, have a strong area with job growth and people are going to move there and there's businesses are moving in and you just empower those areas, I genuinely think they can prosper.

Andy, one of the big things that you're pushing during your campaign is that you are not a career politician.

You haven't been in politics before.

we've heard that a number of times and with all due respect is the governor's office a good place to learn politics or is there another stuff obviously you think yes but why why do you think this is a job for someone who's never done anything like this before

Sure.

So I've actually heard this topic a lot and going door to door and, you know, talking to people because sometimes we just do go, we do go to the door.

Um, some older people have concerns and I understand that, you know, being young.

No,

it's true.

Listen, I am, and it's true.

So

go ahead.

No, I mean, it's, it's easy to be like that.

Now my mind says this.

I also look at the system and I say sometimes when you're.

Too close to the sun.

Sometimes you're corrupted.

You're too involved in the system.

Sometimes you're not so easy to, you know, relate to the issues of the day.

And I think it's okay to talk about and meet people or that and learn about issues of the day.

I think young people can be molded and learned and they can be adjusted.

I would argue, yes, governor is a stretch, if you will.

And there's nothing saying I can't run first or something local if it doesn't work out.

I'm not showing

Kathryn Lake

that

regard.

But at the end of the day, I can advocate for policies, platforms that otherwise wouldn't be at the top of the state, if you will, because I'm talking about them.

See, now we're talking about the idea of, for example, again, flat rates, 500.

you know, thousand just figure out a little ground.

Let's figure out what works for counties kind of thing.

Opportunity zones for these areas, building up the future.

These are ideas that, you know, at a stage like this and in public settings, we can start having conversations like adults and in my mind, getting things done.

So, you know, at the end of the day, part

of your is that part of your bigger plan?

I mean, obviously, you obviously you would like to win the primary and run for governor and win the when the governor's office.

But getting these getting these messages out there, getting these ideas out there may be

As successful or or a step in the right direction for you down the road.

Yeah, I mean even just the fact that we're Republican running on a police reform element like accountability.

I mean that's massive.

I mean honestly because at least when Milwaukee where I'm at there are a lot of people who had drugs planted on them were abused for example or brutalized right.

I mean we have police cams and that's a step in the right direction in a lot of these cases.

But at the end of the day, I think the lever a lot of people are missing is just, you know, I might explain it like this.

In the rural areas, they have sheriffs, you know, they're elected by the people, they're trusted by the people, right?

And I'm thinking like, hey, there's a model where there's this trust mechanic, right?

In the cities that could be useful, you know, even for Democrats, I'd argue, where, hey, we can referendum, we can get together, we can referendum on other offices, we can get together.

There's some sort of way that the community can get involved.

And that varies from location to location.

But I think it's important to, again, just simply start discussions.

Some say it's impossible.

Just have the conversation.

Get the idea out there.

Well, Andy, listen, it's been thank you for coming on because a lot of Republicans are a little nervous to come in and talk to us.

But last question, I see you're sitting in a gamer chair.

So what is your favorite video game and how good

are you at

it?

Ooh, okay.

So I actually play a variety of video games.

I'll say what I'm not good at is shooting games.

I'm not the best at them.

Nowadays, I like to play strategy games, so I'm a bit of a nerd like that.

I like historical games as well, so I'm a big history nerd.

It varies on day-to-day what I'm doing because sometimes I'm with a group of friends online, but these days,

One of the games I've been playing is Europa Universalis, which is like a very old, nerdy economic simulator.

I like my economics, my finance because I went to school for economics and finance.

So

you do manage like a medieval economy and you're like passing little reforms and doing different things.

conquering little kingdoms.

I play a little bit on the side with my buddy of mine from Iowa, but we're having a great time.

So that's one of the things I'm playing right now and I'm enjoying it a lot.

Very cool.

Well, Andy, thanks so much for joining us.

Good luck with the campaign.

Andy Manskey for governor.

That's the number four dot com.

Andy Manskey for governor dot com.

Andy, have a good rest of your day.

Thanks again.

Thanks for having me.

God bless y'all.

We'll be back with more.

It's daybreak.

Kathryn Lake

You're listening to Civic Media.

Find the latest news, information, and archives of all your favorite shows on the Civic Media website, civicmedia.us.

Local voices and statewide impact.

It's Daybring with Brian and Jamie.

It's 7.52 right now.

Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

We always appreciate it.

You're listening to the Civic Media Network.

My name is Jamie Martinson.

Hey, good morning.

I'm Brian Noonan.

I want to know.

If rural voters in Wisconsin think the war is worth the pain that you are suffering economically.

And I'll tell you why.

But I also want to say, Jamie, it was nice having Andy

Kathryn Lake

Maskey

on.

We are willing.

We've invited Tom Tiffany to join us.

So it's Tom Tiffany.

Love to have a conversation with him.

Yeah, you know, come on in.

We may disagree, but we are polite.

That's

right.

Because Jamie, here's the thing about us.

Me, not as often as you, but we are adults and can have adult civil conversations.

Yes, absolutely.

Even with people we disagree with.

I have several friends who I do not agree with politically because we met a long time ago, and they are some of my favorite people in the world, and we have some of the best conversations.

And I love having those conversations with them because sometimes they challenge my way of thinking and vice versa.

And I'm always appreciative of those moments.

See, that's where we differ.

My friends who may not agree politically, we just don't talk politics, because really,

They're not going to change my mind.

I'm not going to change their mind.

Let's just have some fun.

Let's talk about everything else in our lives.

And we do that too.

Several

of my friends still work in politics though too, so inevitably it still comes up at some point.

You do

what you got to do.

The reason I asked about rural voters is this a story that was in the journal Sentinel the other day and it was based in Colorado but it has bearing here in Wisconsin too because as you know we have a lot of rural residents, we have a lot of rural voters and I was intrigued by this.

So in Wiggins, Colorado, which is northwest of Denver,

Gas is about 50% higher than it was last year.

Wiggins is a farming town of about 1400 in Morgan County.

Oh, sorry, that's in Northeast Colorado.

Now, Trump won that county in 2024 by 49 points.

So this is hardcore red.

And I know our rural communities have gone, some are hardcore red like that, some are a little purple.

But, you know, that...

Listen to that population, listen to the description of Higgins, or Wiggins rather.

There's a lot of towns in Wisconsin that would match this.

So, nationally, the political fortunes of this administration appear to be waning, but not in some spots.

As well with the Ronas and fuel prices soaring, Reuters' Ipsos poll last month found nearly eight in ten Americans hold the president responsible for higher gasoline.

prices.

He was asked this week if people's economic woes were motivating him to reach a deal with Tehran and he said this.

He said this.

Not even a little bit.

The only thing that matters when I'm talking about Iran, they can't have a nuclear weapon.

I don't think about Americans financial situation.

I don't think about anybody.

I think about one thing.

We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.

That's all.

That's the only thing about

it.

That's like children, right?

Children can only think about one thing.

Yeah.

And especially when they didn't have a nuclear weapon, they weren't even close to having a nuclear weapon.

Let's not dwell on that.

That's a whole different subject.

But we all know it's a croc and not a delicious cheese spread.

Kathryn Lake

It

is a croc of something horrible.

So Democrats, of course, and an irrational

American seized on that comment, as evidence that the administration was losing touch with the public.

In two dozen recent interviews in these small towns in Colorado, Trump voters echoed the president's logic.

They said across, across Morgan and Weld counties, they don't care if they have to pay more for gas, if it meant eliminating a possible Iranian nuclear threat.

Energy prices have also spiked under Joe Biden, they said.

So gas went up then, so we don't care.

This is what I'm wondering, and if you are listening to us and you live in a small community, a rural community, your prices are going up as much as our prices in Madison or in Milwaukee or in Chicago.

Maybe even more, because sometimes in smaller communities, the gas prices go up because there's a scarcity.

And they've got you.

Where else are you going to go?

Right.

So I for one am not willing to put up with this because I'm scared of Iran.

I'm not scared of

Iran.

I'm I'm aware of what Iran does.

I'm aware of what they have done in the past.

I'm also aware that their nuclear program was under under complete observation.

Things were OK.

This has been the again another

statement by this president has been debunked by facts, by the intelligence communities, but he keeps harping on that.

So are rural communities in Wisconsin feeling the same way?

And why?

Well,

here's the

thing.

According to recent polling, Wisconsin is

directly in line with Colorado's rule voters.

And I would speculate that that probably goes for a lot of rule voters across the country.

I don't have the polling, I don't have the numbers in front of me,

Kathryn Lake

but

just based off of what we're hearing here in this state and from places like Colorado, I'm going to just, you know, take a leap here.

Even with all the, even not only let's take gas prices and energy prices and stuff out of it, grocery prices, what about the lack of

support for farmers.

What about all of that?

I

don't think they see it that way and because I think of

I think that because this administration placates so often and because they keep making these promises of it is going to get better, it's going to get better, I see that happening.

Now let's be realistic, the Democrats haven't done a great job

Kathryn Lake

of reaching out to

farmers or rural voters, though, either.

But for me, I think the question always comes down to whether asking friends or even myself or even rural voters.

Are you financially better off today than you were one year ago?

And I don't know how many people can honestly say yes to that.

I can't imagine many rural voters, especially in this state, looking at the fertilizer prices, the diesel prices, all of that in the middle of a planting season can actually say yes to that, which is why I think this is so surprising to people.

We subsidized beef from Venezuela.

We're not subsidized.

So.

Well, I'm always amazed when people vote against their own self-interest, and I'm not casting aspersions on real voters.

I would love to know why.

What has made this happen?

All right, listen.

That's enough for this hour.

We're done with the seven o'clock hour.

It's been nothing but trouble.

We did make it, so now when we come back...

Kathryn Lake

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